Signal light



Patented Apr. 22, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OF F ICE J'SIGNAL I LIGHT iJames'l): Lash,- Cleveland Heights, Ohio, assignor to,GeneraLElectrieCompany; a corporation: of

I. New .York

.1: Application Dctober15, 1948;;Se1' al No: 54,171

3 Claims.

This invention relates to signal lights, and its principal object is toprovide a signal light for use 7 on .life rafts,. life jacketaweatherballoons, bicycle handle bars, and other objectsto which scription ofspecies thereof andfromthe accompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 is afragmentary,: elevational, partly sectional view along the line |-.-I.of Fig. 2 of a signal light of. my invention; Fig. 2 is a top plan viewof the signal light shown in Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 Ba longitudinalsectional view of a light controlling lamp enclosure useful. in mysignal light shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

J Referring .to Figs. land 2, the signal light comprises alight-transmitting enclosure l cylindrical in shape having one closedend and an open end for receiving the incandescent lamp 2 within theenclosure I. The enclosure I and the lamp 2 are mounted on a metalcasing 3 enclosingan electric storage or dry cell 4 and having ashoulder 5 providing a stop for the enclosure 1. The casing 3 has athreaded portion 6 for engaging the threaded lower portion of thecylindrical wall ll of cell 4 which is spring pressed in the directionof the lamp 2 in the usual manner. The

outer shell contact of base 9 is connected to the other terminal (notshown) of cell 4 through metal casing 3 to complete the circuitincluding lamp 2 and cell 4. The lamp 2 may be of the type used forflashlights and sold under the designation of G-3 and the cell 4 may bea conventional flashlight cell having an open circuit voltage ofapproximately 1.5 volts.

The cylindrical enclosure 1 is made of a lighttransmitting material,such as glass, or an organic plastic, methyl methacrylate, for example,and the outer surface of its cylindrical wall 8 and its end wall 12 iscorrugated as shown at l3 of the drawing. The corrugations 13 on the endwall 12 of the enclosure 1 are circular and concentric as shown in Fig.2, and those on the cylindrical wall 8 are annular and transverse to thelongitudinal axis of the enclosure I.

In a specific embodiment of the signal light, the corrugations [3 wereinch wide and had a curvature with a inch radius, the bore of theenclosure l was inch in diameter and 1 inch long and the thicknessor endwall 1 land wall 8 was 1%; inch. Thelamp 2* was'disposed' in aboutr'thecenter of the enclosure. l. The signallight so constructed producesspaced, narrow, bandshaped beams of light approximately two or-threetimes higher in candlepower than the lightfrom the bare lamp 2 alone.The beams produced are divergent because the :concentrated filament inlamp 2 is at a different angle with respect to the optical axis of eachof the light converging lenses formed by the respective corrugations l3.When the signal light is mounted on a life jacket afloat and moved in arandom manner by the motions of the water or the wearer, the divergingbeams of the light are: moved to produce a flashing-light effect atremote points to attract the attention of rescuers.

Weather balloons sent up at night areffrequently provided with abattery-operated lamp so that the travel of the balloon may be followedwith a telescopic instrument. Often the sight on these balloons is lostbecause at long distances the steady light from the lamp cannot bedistinguished from that of a star. My signal light producing amultiplicity of divergent beams is useful for producing a flashing lightfrom such balloons which usually oscillate due to the turbulence of theair.

The light controlling enclosure shown in Fig. 3 of the drawing issimilar in all respects to that of Figs. 1 and 2 except that its endwall I4 is shaped as a single light concentrating lens. In a specificembodiment, the outer spherical surface of wall l4 had a inch radius andthe overall length of the enclosure was 1% inches. The other dimensionsthereof were the same as the enclosure of Figs. 1 and 2. The signallight comprising such an enclosure with the lamp 2 mounted at the focusof lens 14 is particularly suitable for mounting on the handle bars of abicycle, or the like, for producing a single, steady driving beam in aforward direction and a plurality of narrow diverging beams to the side.The movement of the handle bar causes the diverging beams to produce aflashing effect on points to either side of the direction of travel.

Obviously, colored filters may be interposed between the lamp and thecylindrical wall 5 of the enclosure to obtain various colored lightingeffects to the sides of the unit and an opaque screen may be interposedbetween the lamp and the eyes of the rider of the bicycle to keep thelight from his eyes.

The width of the corrugations I3 of both enclosures may be changed tosuit a particular service. For example, a width of A inch may bepreferred if the motion of the unit is so fast that the emitted lightappearsto be steady with corrugations A; inch wide. Obviously,enclosures of other shapes having light converging lenses with theirrespective optical axes spaced apart an angular distance of not morethan 189 and by which light emitted by the enclosed lamp is concentratedinto narrow diverging beams may be used. For example, a sphericalenclosure having parallel corrugations with the focus of each of thelenses formed by the corrugations at the filament of the lamp may bepreferred for certain mountings.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates is:

1. A signal light comprising a compact light source and a lightcontrolling cylindrical enclosure mounted about said source and having alight transmitting end wall and parallel elongated annular lightconverging lenses in its side Wall, the optical axes of said lensesbeing in paral lel planes disposed at different angles to said source sothat light emitted by the source in the direction of said side wall isconcentrated into narrow diverging beams by said lenses whereby randommovement of the light produces a fiashing effect at distant points.

2. A signal light comprising a compact light source and a lightcontrolling cylindrical enclosure mounted about said source and beingclosed at one end, the cylindrical side wall of said enclosure havingparallel annular light converging lenses the optical axes of said lensesbeing in parallel planes disposed at different angles to said source,the end wall of said enclosure having concentric ring-shaped lightconverging lenses, the axes of the lenses in said end wall beingdisposed in concentric cylinders about said source so that light emittedby the source is concentrated into narrow, band-shaped, diverging beamsby said lenses whereby random movement of the light produces a flashingefiect at distant points.

3. A signal light comprising a compact light source and a lightcontrolling cylindrical enclosure mounted about said source and havingan end wall shaped as a light concentrating lens with its focus at saidsource for projecting a beam of light forwardly of said signal light andhaving also parallel elongated annular light converging lenses in itscylindrical wall with the axes of said lenses disposed in parallelplanes normal to the axis of said first-named lens to concentrate lightfrom the source incident on said side wall into narrow diverging beamswhereby movements directing the forwardly projecting beam produce aflashing effect to the side of said signal light.

JAMES D. LASH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

England Aug. 17, 1923

